Star date: 30th June 2012

FRED ENGELS PLAY STAGED IN SALFORD 

The Condition of the Working Class in England
Salford Arts Theatre
Thurs and Fri 5th and 6th July £5
Nexus Art Café, Manchester 7th and 8th July £5

A new play based on Fred Engels' epic anti-poverty book The Condition of the Working Class in England is to be performed at Salford Arts Theatre, just down the road from where his Victoria Mill was housed way back in the 1800s. The play, performed by volunteers, aims to update the Engels classic with scenes, songs and poetry.

Full details here…

Back in March, the Salford Star ran an article on a theatre group that wanted to update Fred Engels' The Condition of the Working Class in England, first published in 1845 (see here for full article)…

"We both re-read Engel's The Condition of the Working Class and we were like `This could have been written now!'" said Deirdre O'Neill from Inside Film "Of course there are superficial changes but the Conditions haven't changed – bad housing, segregation, unemployment – it's incredible, that's what hit us…"

Well now, Deirdre's company has teamed up with Not Too Tame, gathered 14 volunteers from the area, and the Ragged Collective are launching the live production of The Condition of The Working Class in England at Salford Arts Theatre on Thursday (5th) and Friday (6th) this week, followed by two more performances in Manchester (7th and 8th). Salford Arts Theatre is literally about a mile down Liverpool Street from Engels' original Victoria Mill in Weaste. The mill is well gone, with the M602 running through it. But Engels' ideas fire on.

The production is based on the original Engels masterpiece and features drama, songs and performance poetry…

"A company of volunteers, most of whom have never met before, have come together to look again at the `condition of the working class in England' today, working from Engels' book and their own experiences" says Deirdre "The show is a brilliant example of people coming together with fire, passion and determination to make something happen; to bring about change."

Anyone who needs to know who Fred Engels was can take a look at the Salford Star history of the man who, with his mate Karl Marx, changed the world – see here and follow the links.

The Condition of the Working Class in England
Thurs and Fri 5th and 6th July 7:30pm £5
Salford Arts Theatre
Kemsing Walk, off Liverpool St, Salford M54BS
(there will be a discussion will the cast and producers after the show on the 5th)
Please note: The performances and audience at Salford Arts Theatre will be filmed.
Further details see Salford Arts Theatre website: click here

Sat and Sun 7th and 8th July 8pm
Nexus Art Café
Dale Street (opp Vinyl Exchange), Manchester M1 1JW £5 pay on door
Further details see Nexus website: click here

For more details of the production - click here